Blog

The details of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting are just beginning to unfold and this violent high profile event will likely dominate news headlines for weeks. Though few of us were there during the shooting, the event may cause children to fear that an event like this could happen to them or their parents. All of us, including our children, are dealing with sadness, anger and other strong...

I wish I could say that my children made simple gift requests this holiday season reflecting the spirit of the season - perhaps asking for a beautifully illustrated book and some simple wooden toys. My five-year-old punctured this vision last...

Some parents worry that as kids spend time texting, they aren't writing as often as children in past generations. The digital age demands that children be skilled in multiple ways of communicating, from GIF keyboards to writing stories and...

There have been many good posts and articles that focus on how to talk to young children about the outcome of the presidential election. These were helpful guides for how to respond, as children rubbed their eyes awake on the morning...

I can still remember the kitchen conversation as my brothers excitedly hatched the plan with their friends. “Yes! Let’s do it!” was the consensus as five teenage boys raced out the front door with their skateboards. Ten...

I was waist deep in muskeg (a fancy name for stinky swamp mud in canoe country), a wood-canvas canoe perched on my barely 16-year-old shoulders, and mosquitoes buzzed hungrily in my ears – a challenging, but not atypical, portage in the...

Many parents drag their feet into the dreaded "sex talk" with their children. Maybe it's time we take the pressure off of that single talk. If we want the sex and relationships our children ultimately have to be physically, psychologically, and emotionally healthy then we'd better start talking to them about it early and often.

“Sometimes I feel like my kids are out of control,” worried one parent. Another quickly added, “My daughter knows just how to push my buttons.” A third chimed in with, “I’m always in a power struggle with...

We’ve been showing a video of the classic “marshmallow experiment” for years at parent education seminars across the country. We re-constructed the experiment with a group of local parents here in the Twin Cities about ten years ago, and it serves as a catalyst for important conversations about the role that self-discipline plays in our children’s success and happiness....

Walk down the children's toy aisle in any store these days and you will be greeted with a cacophony of noise. Instead of the excited voices of children that you might expect, however, much of the chatter emanates from the toys...

"I know there is a lot to be excited about, but I can't help but feel depressed about all the time that kids are spending online," a father of a middle schooler said at a workshop last week. Another parent added, "Well, you aren't alone. I am not sure that social media isn't making my daughter depressed too!"

Parents everywhere are expressing similar concerns about how digital...

“Broken!” Miles exclaimed. “It's broken!” He said again in an increasingly frustrated voice.

It took me a couple of minutes to catch up. My son was positioned directly in front of the TV, trying diligently to move a character on Daniel Tiger with his index finger. I soon realized what he was trying to do and was struck by what a “2015...

If you have ever spent any time with preschoolers, you know that they incessantly ask questions. "Why is that squirrel eating a nut? Where do you think it lives? Why are there nuts on that tree? Where are the other squirrels? Why? Where? How come?"

For us parents, these endless questions can be exasperating. At the end of a long day, "Because I said so!" is about all you can muster in...

I have been cooking with my parents since I was a kid. Usually this involved sitting on the counter tasting the cookie dough batter (yes, with raw egg!), but not always. Sometimes I also helped by licking the brownie mix from the...

This may come as a surprise, but the goal to “eat a variety of foods” is the hardest one for me to implement in my house. Introducing new foods can be met with skepticism (or outright displeasure or disgust) and personally I find it frustrating to spend time making a meal to have everyone turn their noses up at it. Eating a variety of foods also means that I have to continually...